It All Started
by claraowl
Summary: Before the war, a trip down memory lane is in order... the path was nearly forgotten. Luckily, the mind always has a map of the twisting, winding road we know so well.
1. Memories of the Seashore

***Author's Note: If there are too many Americanisms, please alert me to the problem…. For example, what do I put in place of pancakes? Or the chicken dance? Obviously, I do not own any of this.***

**Part 1: Memories of the Seashore**

*Ron's P. O. V.*

I sink back onto my pillows, alone in my room at the Burrow. Everyone else is downstairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts. As usual of late, they are circling around a certain bushy-haired girl- Hermione. I really don't know what's been wrong with me lately. Whenever I'm left alone for more than two minutes, my thoughts turn to her. You'd think that, by now, my heart would have gotten the message that I'm not good enough for her. Yet, as I lie here, a memory surfaces… one that has nothing to do with Hermione….

*Girl's P. O. V.*

A memory is drawn to the front of my mind as I stow my wand… sitting gently on the end of my bed, I lose myself in the past.

*Ron's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

"Boys, Ginny, come down to breakfast!" Mum's voice breaks through my haze of dreams - dreams of purple eyes. Pushing the recurring dreams from mind, I rush down to the smell - and enormous stack of - pancakes.

We've been at the cottage by the sea for a few weeks. Dad had been sent here to observe Muggles for a paper. I failed to see why research was needed; Dad knew so much about them already. However, I enjoyed the shore, and therefore did not question it.

As we all eat, Dad asks, "How do you all like the shore?" We all respond enthusiastically, Ginny the most of all, letting out a near-deafening squeal.

Once the cheers subside, Dad poses another question: "Who's up for a bit of swimming today?" At this point, Ginny's squeal becomes a shriek, semi-deafening the lot of us. We gobble down our breakfast, hoping to get out onto the shore quickly.

Unfortunately, by the time that our hour of waiting is up, the weather has turned cold. At Mum's instruction, we put on our jumpers and warm trousers.

We didn't get to go swimming that day, but Mum had Fred and George take me out on a walk to the rock pier. They quickly got rid of me, saying that since I was "a big boy of six, after all," I could walk myself.

Once down there, I jumped from rock to rock, singing tunelessly. It was then that I noticed a girl down at the end of the pier. She looked to be about my age, but smaller and thinner than me.

*Girl's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

Hearing footsteps on the rock behind me, I spun around, wiping my eyes as I did so. Mean Alyssa, Clare, and Veronica- why'd they have to pick on my lisp, anyway? Once my eyes were dry, they found a flame-haired boy, around my age, but taller.

"Er- hi?" His voice sounded uncertain as he shivered. I blinked, wondering why he was shivering. He must be cold, but he's wearing a jumper, while I was fine in my swimsuit.

"Thalutationth!" I called, quoting Charlotte, a spider in one of my favorite books.

"What?" He had come up to me at this point, and appeared to be wondering if he should sit down, next to me. I scooted over to make room for him, so he plopped down on the rock, getting his pants wet from the spray.

"Thal-u-ta-tionth," I annunciated slowly, "ith another word for hi."

"Oh," he paused, then asked, "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Helen. It'th not my acthual name, but my lithp makes it hard for me to pronouthe." As a thought occurred to me, I added, "Are yoth going to make fun of me?"

He shakes his head. "No way. I hate it when my brothers make fun of me. I have five older brothers and one little sister. She's only five." He then added proudly, "I'm six."

I grinned, "I'm thix, too- er, what'th your name?"

"I-I'm Red," he said, his ears matching his hair and his name, "that-that is, you can call me that."

I grinned at him again, then decided to go out on a limb, "Do yoth want to be friends?"

He blinked at me once or twice, then said, "Er- sure!" I smiled more broadly than ever, hopping to my feet. As I swing my soaked hair over my shoulder, he said suddenly, "You're really pretty."

*Ron's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

Did I really just say that? I mean, it's true - she's got stars in her eyes - but it's not the type of thing that I say! Fred and George will never let me live this down, if they heard me… However, none of the stuff running through my head seemed to have occurred to her, since she was glowing.

"Thankth, Red! No one my age hath ever told me thath before! You look nithe, too!" Why was I noticing how her eyes were literally shining when she said that? Her eyes… her purple eyes - purple eyes?

"Er…" I blinked. "Why are your eyes purple?"

"I don'th really know why; they justh do thath sometimeth." She looked at me for a moment, then asked, "Do yoth want to go look for theaglass?"

"Sure!" And we dashed off along the beach together.

"Hey, Red!" The next day, Helen's voice jarred me awake at the early hour of six A.M.

"Argh- c'mon, who's that, and why is she here so pancakin' early?" The sleepy voice of my brother George floated after me as I rushed into my clothes and out of the door.

The moment that Helen caught sight of me, she exclaimed, "Leth go to the plathground todath, Red - I saw a turtle there yetherday! Hurrith!" And with that, she dashed off.

It took me a moment, but I started running, too, trying to wake up. "Wait for me!" I called after her.

She obeyed, waiting until I was about a foot away, and then smiled evilly.

*Helen's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

Three… two… one… now! "Tag!" I shouted, smacking him across the arm and darting off.

"Helen!" He hollered after me, "That's no fair! I didn't even get to catch my breath!" Nonetheless, he soon caught up and tagged me back; this continued until two of his older brothers showed up. They introduced themselves as Gred and Feorge, and immediately began teasing Red.

"So this must be the girl-" started one.

"-who we've heard so much-" continued the other.

"-or so little-" said the first.

"-about." they finished together. I was slightly in awe of how they spoke, having never heard twins speak before; this flew from my mind when I saw that Red's ears matched his nickname once more.

"Shut up," he hissed, gritting his teeth.

"Ooh, touchy, touchy," they chorused, "about your _girlfriend_."

At this point Red hollered, "She's not my girlfriend!" and pushed me into a nearby mud puddle.

Hot tears of fury and humiliation stung my eyes as I picked myself up, slapped Red across the face, and ran back to the cottage. First Alyssa, Clare, and Veronica; now Red. Why do I have such a difficult time keeping friends? Why does it always come to this? Why do I always end up crying into Bill, my stuffed owl?

…Why me?

*Ron's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

"'Red'? Why'd she call you 'Red'? C'mon, Ron, it's time for breakfast." George (Gred? Really?) said.

"Yeah, it's blueberry pancake day! Your favorite!" Fred (Feorge? Really?) added as they dragged me along.

As we ate, Mum noticed that I wasn't eating much. After inquiring if I was ill, she began fussing about until I managed to put the fork in my mouth. I then proceeded to eat most of the pancakes and a great deal of the kippers. After breakfast, I slipped off to find Helen. I had sea glass and a plan.

I found her on the rock pier, as I had the first time. I rushed up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, I forced the sea glass into her hand and mumbled a fast (and most likely inaudible) apology. Before the events had a chance to register in her mind, I spun on my heel and ran away.

*Helen's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

I sat there, stunned, trying and failing to process what had just happened. As far as I could tell, Red had forced something into my hand, mumbled something, and ran off. I looked down at the object, realizing that it was a giant piece of purple sea glass as I did so. Etched clearly on one side was the word _Friends_. I grinned at it and chased after him, catching up relatively quickly. After a brief and slightly awkward conversation, we ran off to the playground together.

I guessed that I didn't lose a friend, after all.

**Yes, so I've decided to break this up into parts… let me know what you think of each! Please Review!**


	2. Lunch

**Welcome back! Here's part number two! I don't own any of this.**

**Part 2: Lunch**

Later that summer, it was announced that there would be a dance in the town hall. Everyone, it seemed, was talking about going. I was excited. I loved to dance, but had never been to one outside of a family wedding. I asked Mum and Dad if we could go, and they said that it would be a simply splendid idea. However, I would have to pack before we went, because it was the day before we left. I agreed and bounced off to the playground.

"Red!" I shouted, spotting him sitting on one of the bouncy horses, looking impatient.

"There you are!" He grumped at me, "What took you so long?"

"There'th going to be a danthe! Are yoth going to go?" My eyes nearly popped out of my head in excitement.

"Er…." He muttered, shifting uncomfortably, "…I don't know…."

"Yoth thoud, Red! Have yoth ever gone to a danthe before?" I plopped down on the swing next to him and began pumping my legs.

He begins to do the same. "No… I just… my brothers would tease me…."

"Get your Mum to have everthyone go. Then theth couldn't tease yoth."

He blinked. "You're really smart, Helen."

My cheeks heated as I swung myself higher, replying, "Thankth, Red. Now, go convinthe your Mum! Hurrith!"

And he ran off to his talk to his Mum, who had just entered the playground. After a brief conversation, they came over to me. I stopped swinging as they walked up, dragging my feel to stop. When they reached me, I popped up and stuck out my hand. "I'm Helen."

"Hello, dear. I'm-" She began to introduce herself, but was cut off when Red's little sister ran up.

"Mummy! Mummy! Are we really going to a dance? Are we going to do the chicken dance? Are we?" She was squealing, but cut herself off when she spotted me. Her eyes bugged out. "Are you Helen? My brother's been talking about you like mad!"

Red's ears matched his name once more. "I-I haven't…."

"Now, Gin-Gin," said another ginger brother of Red's, coming up behind his mother, "we mustn't embarrass our brother too much before we see him dance. After all," he smirked, "Mum's making us all go, but his _girlfriend _will be the one to make him dance."

The coloring on Red's ears covered his entire face. "She's not my girlfriend! Can't I have a friend without you lot making fun of me?"

"All right, all of you," his Mum called, gathering all of her gingers to herself, "leave your brother alone. It is now lunchtime. Helen, would you and your family like to join us?"

"I'll go ask!" I called as I dashed off to the cottage to ask. A few minutes later, Mum, Dad, and I were meeting up with Red's family at their cottage for lunch.

We had a splendid time, however loud Red's family was. Personally, I quite enjoyed it; I don't know how Mum and Dad felt about it. I sat next to Red's little sister, who only answered to Gin-Gin. We giggled an awful lot, which caused Red to become grumpy, due to our inability to explain why we were laughing.

All in all, I had an excellent time. I couldn't wait for the dance, only a week away. However, I could wait for what came directly after the dance: the fact that I would leave, probably to never see Red again.

**Sorry this was so short… please point out any mistakes I made. **

**Reviews?**


	3. The Dance

**I own none of this, but please enjoy any way!**

**Part 3: The Dance**

*Ron's P. O. V.*

~Memory~

"Boys! Gin-Gin! Arthur! Are you all packed? Remember, we're leaving early tomorrow morning, so you'd better be backed before the dance!" Mum's voice rang out in the mid-morning, jarring me out of my sleep. It took me a few moments to realize that I was still in bed at 9 A.M.; I'd grown used to Helen coming to fetch me at six. As I clambered out of bed, I wondered why she hadn't come. Oh, well; I'd see her later, anyway, at the dance. My insides froze. The dance; my brothers were going to be awful. I didn't know how to dance! They'd never stop taking the mickey….

I gloomily packed up my things while this thought hung in my mind. What was I going to do? I'd never been to a dance before; I don't know how to dance; and, without a shadow of a doubt, my brothers would find something to tease me about. I grumpily finished packing my things and stomped downstairs. Suddenly, a thought struck me; I paused with one foot in midair. Helen probably knew how to dance; she could teach me. I dashed the rest of the way down the stairs, gulped down my breakfast, and practically flew over to her cottage. I was about to knock on the door when it opened and she came running out, banging right into me and sending both of us tumbling to the ground.

"Good mornthing, Red!" Scrambling to her feet, Helen pulled me up as well. "Did yoth want thomething? I'th odd for yoth to meet me here."

"I-I-I," pausing, I took a deep breath, then said, "I was wondering if you'd teach me how to dance, since you seem to know so much about it."

Her face brightened, her purple eyes shining. "Thure!" She exclaimed, "I'd be glad to! Come on!" She then dragged me down to the basement of her cottage, where there was a small dance floor. She turned on some music, then turned to me.

"Okay," she said, turning to me, "the firtht thing yoth do ith lithen to the muthic. Onthe you pick up on the beat, yoth thart to move." She did so, moving from side to side, stepping and swaying.

"Thecond, yoth get a picthure in your mind and try to be it." She started moving her arms like windshield wipers. "If the picture doethn't fit the muthic, try a different one." She then began to move about like a spider.

Shivering, I said, "Helen, stop that. I hate spiders."

"Oh," she shrugged, "okay." She switched to a wiggling movement. "Third, yoth just relath and have fun! Now yoth try, Red!"

"Er, okay," I nodded as the next song came on. "What were those steps again, Helen?"

"One: Lithen to the muthic and pick up the beat; move to the beat."

I did so, hopping awkwardly from one foot the other.

"Two: Get a pithture in your mind and try to be it," Helen giggled. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

I attempted to find a picture, but all that would come up was a tumbleweed; I curled up in ball on the floor and rolled around.

Helen could barely speak for laughing. "Th-three: Re-relath and have fun."

I grinned at her, still rolling around like a tumbleweed. She laughed even harder and was soon rolling on the floor as well, but not in the same way. Her laughter was contagious; I was soon laughing with her, not a tumbleweed any longer. We laughed until, suddenly, Gin-Gin came running down the stairs and jumped on top of me. I stopped laughing then; Helen, however, laughed even harder.

"Gin-Gin," I asked, "what are you doing here?"

"I've come to join you two! Mummy said I could play with you today! What are you doing?"

Helen, finally regaining control of herself, answered, "Either danthing or playing thumbleweed; your choithe."

"Thumbleweed?"

"Tumbleweed," I explained, "is when you curl up in a ball and roll around ion the floor like this." I demonstrated.

"I choose tumbleweed!"

And so we played tumbleweed until Gin-Gin and I had to go home for lunch.

*Helen's P.O. V.*

~Memory~

Mum, Dad, and I stepped into the dance hall. I was grinning from ear to ear. I love dances! I grabbed their hands and pulled them onto the dance floor as the music started. Dad had a rose in his mouth, so he was doing all sorts of "funky" moves; roses had that effect on him when held in his mouth. I giggled. It was rare to see him so relaxed. He grabbed Mum and started dipping and spinning her. On the next song, he did the same with me. This continued until he was too tired to dance any more. He then suggested that I go dance with my friends, who had arrived a while ago and had been watching. I nodded and dashed off to join them.

"Hi everthone!" I said as I skidded up to them.

There was a chorus of greetings in return; I then grabbed Gin-Gin's and Red's hands and dragged them onto the dance floor. Gin-Gin immediately started doing the tumbleweed. The three of us laughed as the rest of their family joined us, everyone dancing. We had a grand time. I wished that the evening could go on forever.

Sadly, nothing lasts forever, and the night came to an end. We all said our farewells and I signaled to Red to meet me out on the pier at 6 A. M.; he signaled back that he would be there.

All I could do was hope that he wouldn't forget me.

**Next chapter is the last one! **

**Please review!**


	4. Sea Glass Connection

**Here's the last chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**Part Four: Sea Glass Connection **

I sat down on the end of the pier about five minutes before I was supposed to meet Red there. Yes, I was going to miss him; there was no doubt about that. It was odd, I admit, for me, a girl, to get along so well with a boy - but neither of us had ever really thought about it. Sighing, I glanced along the pier, back to the mainland, and saw Red running towards me.

"Hi," I said.

He grinned at me. "Salutations," he said, plunking himself down on the rock next to me.

"I have thomething for yoth, Red," I announced, pulling something out of my pocket, "in return for the thea glath."

"Er… you didn't have to…"

"But I wanthed to! Open it!" I handed him the small box.

"Yes, ma'am," he smirked as he opened it.

"It'th a wi'thing box. Yoth write your wi'th on a piece of paper and put it in there. If no one thees it, the little butherflies in there take the wi'th off to the wi'thing cloud, granting it. Uthe it well."

"Thanks, Helen! I've never heard of a wishing box before. I'll do my best to use it well!"

Glancing at my watch, I received a shock. "I need to get going thoon. But before I go, will yoth tell me your real nameth?"

"Sure! I'm Ron Weasley."

"I'm Her-my-oh-nee Grang-er," I carefully sounded out.

"Well, I gueth this ith good-bye, Red- I mean, Ron."

"Yeah…."

"Bye!" I kissed him, rather suddenly, on this tip of his nose. His ears turned the color of his nickname.

"Bye." He kissed my cheek, his ears deepening to the color of his jumper. I waved to him as I ran off to my cottage, back to where Mum and Dad were packing up the car. When I looked in the side mirror of the car before I got in, I noticed that my eyes were no longer purple. They had turned brown.

~End of Memory~

*Ron's P. O. V.*

I blinked, resurfacing from the memory. I blinked again. I blinked once more. I then dove underneath my bed and began to root through all the things that had accumulated there through the years. Eventually, I find what I'm looking for: the wishing box. Settling back on my bed, I examine it.

The box it covered by a thick layer of dust; I use my wand to siphon this off, revealing the dark, carved wood. Opening the rusty latch, I see the four mesh-and-metal butterflies sitting there, waiting for me. I remove them gently, one by one.

The first one, completely blue, had a piece of paper clamped in between its little legs. I gently tugged it out. _I wish that I'll get lots of snickerdoodles on my birthday._ I smiled; that wish had come true. I usually get a huge plate of my favorite cinnamon biscuits on my birthday each year. Grinning, I pick up the next butterfly.

The second one was also solid blue; it, too, had a piece of paper, this time held in its antennae. It slid out easily. _I wish that I could climb up to the top of the big tree. _That wish had also come true; the summer that I was eight, I managed to climb up there - and got stuck. Dad had to get me down by magic. Laughing and cringing slightly, I pulled out another butterfly.

The third one was pink with small patches of silver glitter. The piece of paper it held was in its miniscule mouth. _I wish that I will see Helen again. _I blinked at the paper. Even though I hadn't realized it until now, this wish had also come true; I'd seen Helen again in first year, and had become best friends with her once more. I'd cringed more than once at how I'd treated her that Halloween; I cringed even more, now, that I knew that she's Helen, my friend. Of course, that's only one of the reasons I'm cringing, but that's beside the point. I reached into the wishing box and grabbed the last butterfly.

The fourth and final one was a mixture of the three colors: the wings had blue closest to the body, then pink spreading, and with yellow on the wingtips. This one had no paper; I had been saving it for a very special wish. I knew, now, what that wish was. Grabbing a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink, I wrote my wish. I then gave all the papers back to the butterflies and settled them back into the box. Closing the lid, I put the box in my desk drawer.

Now all I could do was hope that my wish would come true.

*Hermione's P. O. V.*

I smiled a bittersweet smile at the memory. I'd known Ron then, I know him now, and I doubt that he'll ever remember me as "Helen." Sighing, I look around my room, now stripped of all the things I'll be taking with me on the hunt for horcruxes. Glancing around one last time, I decide to take Bill, my stuffed owl. I tuck him safely away within my beaded bag, then stop. There's one other thing I was forgetting: my necklace, the one I'd made by putting the sea glass from Ron - alias Red - on a chain.

I run over to my closet and grab my jewelry box off the top shelf. Tapping the bottom three times, I open the secret compartment. I pull out the necklace and put it on. It feels oddly warm against my skin; putting my hand to it, I can almost hear Ron's voice.

"Where are you now, Hermione? Do you remember that summer? Do you ever think about the cottages, and how you always came and woke me up at six in the morning? What about the dance? Remember how Ginny did the tumbleweed with us? I miss you, Hermione; I love you. I promise you… if you don't survive this war, I won't, either. "

I gasp silently. What's going on? Going on a whim, I whisper into the sea glass, "I'm preparing to come to the Burrow. I remember every bit of that summer; I think about it all the time. I remember laughing at how groggy you were and how your brothers complained as I hollered up to the loft to wake you up. I still laugh whenever I hear the word 'tumbleweed.' The dance was spectacular, and I miss dancing with you; I miss you. I love you, too, Ron… and I also promise that if you do not survive the war, I won't either." I then look around my room once more and Disapparate for the Burrow.

As I'm greeted by all the Weasleys and hugged, I feel a sense of coming home. When I finally get to Ron, I whisper, "Tumbleweed."

*Ron's P. O. V.*

Hermione stood on tiptoe when we hugged and whispered, "Tumbleweed." She remembers.

I whisper back, "Save a dance for me, okay?"

She grins at me as we release each other and enter the Burrow, all of us together.

Tumbleweed. She heard; she responded.

Now, all I need is for us to survive the war.

The butterflies came through for me before; I hope that they can do so again.

Tumbleweed.

***Finish***

**I hope you liked it! Do you know what Ron's last wish was? **

**Please review!**


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